Robot arms typically include a series of rigid links connected at joints. The last link is associated with a robot wrist and gripper. The wrist has at least one degree of movement, such as rotation about an axis, similar to a human wrist. The gripper, analogous to a human hand, typically has the ability to open and close about an object, as well as the ability to sense and move objects.
The connection between the gripper and the wrist may be a permanently connected joint or a temporary connection by means of a mechanical interface. Temporary connections are often desired in order to change, clean or adjust grippers. Because of programmability found in most modern robots, they can be adapted to a wide variety of tasks. To take advantage of this capability, a need exists to change grippers without much loss of time.
An object of the invention was to devise an interface apparatus which is intended to join a gripper to a robot wrist or similar member with a rapid connection and disconnection.